Russia, CIS & Balkans NewsRussia, CIS & Balkans News

Celebration of International Mother Earth Day in Russia, CIS and Baltic States

23 May 2018

International Mother Earth Day is celebrated all over the world on the 22nd of April. It reminds each of us that the Earth and its ecosystems provide us with life and sustenance. This day also recognizes the collective responsibility for promoting harmony with nature and the Earth to achive balance among economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations of humanity.

Members of Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University in Russia, CIS and Baltic States also believe that the harmony can not be achieved without spiritual understanding of life itself. On this special day there were different types of activities in BK Centers all over the region from Mongolia in the East to Lithuania in the West. Special events were held in Moscow (Russia), Novosibirsk (Siberia, Russia), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Astana (Kazakhstan), Vilnius (Lithuania) and others.

Most of them started with the spiritual input of serving Mother Earth by the power of pure

thoughts and attitudes. All the 5 elements of nature received pure vibrations of peace, care

and good wishes during a collective meditation conducted by powerful yogis. It allowed

everyone to experience a close connection with the Supreme, the Creator. They could feel that

His pure love, power and wisdom are able to bring Mother Earth to its original nature of purity

and prosperity.

The celebration was continued by physical cleaning up our BK Centers inside and outside the

buildings. Everyone put their finger of cooperation in making our planet clean with a lot of

enthusiasm and a feeling of our common responsibility.

Spring itself is the time of rejuvenation. By taking part in such events we help people to stay

united and mindful of living in harmony with nature. It is time to show our regard and respect

to the ever-giving Mother Earth. By making a small step towards harmony we can inspire

others to change their attitude and the way of living and come close to the world of our

Didi Santosh of St.Petersburg, Russia, becomes a member of the Academy of Fundamental Sciences

25 April 2018

The Academy certificate was presented to Didi Santosh on April 19th, 2018, at the plenary session of the International Scientific Conference “Topical Issues of Information Society in Science, Culture, Education and Economics” (Zelenograd, Moscow).

Handing the diploma to Didi Santosh, Ms. Galina Morozova, director of the Institute of Arts and Information Technologies, organizer of the conference, spoke about the special importance of value education for social development.

The 15th anniversary international conference in Zelenograd was attended by distinguished scientists, educators and administrators from Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Uzbekistan as well as by young researchers, students of the Institute of Arts and Information Technologies.

While discussing the major challenges of the modern times, many speakers talked about the degradation of values, on the one hand, and the transition to a new paradigm of thinking that is taking place right now, on the other.

Dr. Andrey Tyunyaev, president of the Academy of Fundamental Sciences, said in his presentation, “We are living through a period when new awareness and new philosophy are being shaped. The scale of the shift in the super-paradigm of human consciousness that is taking place right now can be compared to the one that happened in XVIII-XIX centuries when the technical way of thinking emerged. What shifts are to be expected in the future in this connection? The first and foremost of them is a transformation of religious thinking. An entirely new religion is about to come to replace the old ones. I do not know the name of that religion but it will make some people god-like. By ‘gods’ I do not mean mystical beings. Gods are the ones who open new spaces and dimensions for humanity. Just like Prometheus brought fire to people, in the nearest future some people will emerge and become divine by helping the humanity with a certain unique quality, entirely new and unknown before”.

Prof. Yadviga Yatskevich, head of the department of social communications of Belarus State University (Republic of Belarus), said that the transition we are going through can be called an anthropological one, as we are turning towards making human life and human values into our priority. It is the transition from the governance based on instructions and orders, to value-based governance and administration. At present we have to learn to combine rational and moral approaches in our policy-making and management. Certain spiritual changes are required first for making any substantial change on a material level. A dialogue of cultures is essential for that, as it will enable the cultures to share their most valuable achievements with the rest of the world. For instance, the culture of the East can show us the path from violence to non-violence, solidarity, acceptance and dialogue.”

Mr. Vitaly Nasedkin, president of Investment Agency of Central Federal District of the Russian Federation, underlined the importance of seeing the entire mankind as one family. “It seems wrong to talk about the dialogue of different civilizations, because humanity is one civilization. Science is international, it cannot be Muslim or Christian, Arabic, Chinese or European. Similarly, the laws of social development are universal, just like the laws of physics are universal. Well, if one day we learn to understand the language of ants, then perhaps it will be correct to speak of a dialogue of two different civilizations!”

Prof. Nigina Shermuhamedova (National University of Uzbekistan) said, “The more science goes into the depth of human nature (cloning, decoding the human genome, AI development), the more enigmatic this human nature appears to be. Although we have entered the 3rd millennium, we still do not know how to be human. It is not by chance that the topic of the forthcoming 24th World Congress of Philosophy in Beijing will be “Learning to Be Human”!

Talking on “Value-Based Human Resource Development”, DidiSantosh said that although modern technologies and institutions supposedly exist in order to help people in achieving peace, happiness and general well-being, there is a major lacuna in today’s knowledge and way of action. Metaphorically speaking, science and technologies provide us with the knowledge about how to make a car, or even how to repair and renovate the car that has been manufactured, but they do not give us an ultimate answer to the question as to who is going to drive that car and what the needs of the user might be. The car is just a means for its user to achieve their goals. The food, both physical and spiritual, required by the user differs from the fuel required for the car. The issue of development is all about understanding human beings who are the users of resources provided to them by nature and technologies. We invest lots of brain power and money into creating technologies, while ignoring those who are going to use them. As a result, the instruments of technology are often used in order to augment the negative forces present in human minds. If an instrument of technology is used to cater negative traits and tendencies of human beings, this development is far from being beneficial. Development will become truly beneficial provided the people using the technologies learn how to think in the right way for the benefit of themselves and others.

Didi Sudha presents a talk on "The Power of Words" at XII Scientific Conference

24 April 2018

Didi Sudha, Brahma Kumaris, giving a talk on "Power of Words". In the presidium there is a doctor of philology, professor of the Moscow Pedagogical State University.

Moscow (Russia): On the invitation of Mrs. M.D. Tikhonycheva, Rector, Leo Tolstoy Institute of Language and Culture, Moscow, Didi Sudha, Director, Brahma Kumaris, Moscow, gave a talk on the theme "Power of Words" at the XII Scientific Conference. The theme of the conference was "The dialogue of languages and cultures: problems and perspectives of modern inter-cultural communication".

The Conference was held on 19th April in the building of Government of Moscow under the auspices of the Committee on Nationality Issues, Russian Federal Assembly.

Organisers included the Department of National Policy and Interregional Relations, the Moscow House of Nationalities, the Leo Tolstoy Institute of Languages and Cultures, Moscow, and the International Scientific and Cultural Centre, Moscow.

The Participants of the Forum in the building of Government of Moscow.

Welcome programme. The concert of Russian folk music: balalaika.

Greetings on behalf of the Head of the Department of National Policy of the Moscow Government.

Mr. Alexey Drozhzhin wishing successful work to the Forum on behalf of Mr. Tarasov V.B., the Head of the Moscow House of Nationalities.

Mrs. M.D. Tikhonycheva, Rector, Leo Tolstoy Institute of Language and Culture, giving a talk on the main objectives of the Forum.

Didi Sudha telling the participants of the Forum about the principles of elevated speech.

Baisakhi Celebrated in Moscow

15 April 2018

A celebration of the Punjabi festival of Baisakhi, a joyous event having a religious and historical background, was organised by the Punjabi Sabha of Moscow. Sis Sudha, Director, Brahma Kumaris Moscow, was invited as an honoured guest on the stage for the Samman Samaroh (Felicitation Ceremony). Bro. Parmod Kumar, President, Punjabi Sabha, Moscow, and the invited guests extended heart felt greetings on the occasion.

The festival was filled with a colourful cultural programme, reminding participants of the bravery, courage, patriotism of Punjabis. It was dedicated to mark the glorification of this great state of India and its enthusiastic residents.